The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1887-02-17
[coNrIsurp rRoN LAST WEEK.
SNOW BOUNDlT EAGLES
By BRET HARTEs
CHAPTER v.

The speed and fury with winch Cnncns
cavalcade swept on in the direction OF the
mysterious shot left Hale no chance for 70
hection. He was conscious OF shouting In
coherently with the others, Of urging his
horse irrcsistibly forward, Of momentarily
expecting to meet or overtake something, but
without any further thought. The figures OF
Clinch and Rawlins immediately before him
shut cut the prospect OF the narrowing trail.
Once only; taking aavnuthgeef Sudden halt
that threw them confssedly together, he
managed to ask . question. $780, =. -,
"Lost their track-found It again!" shouted
the ostler, as Clinch, with cry like tho bay
ing Of hound, again darted forward. Tbeirs
horses were painting and trembling under
them, the ascent seemed to be growing
sleeper, singular darkness, which even the
density of the wood did not sufficiently ac-
count for, surrounded them, but stia Their
leader madly urged them on. To Hsls's re-
turning senses they did not seem in q condi-
ton to engage a single resolute man, who
might have ambushed in the woods or beaten
them in detail in the narrow gorge, but in
another instant the reason Of their furious
haste was manifest. Squirting his horse
ahead, Clinch dashed out into tho open with
Q cheering shout-a shout that a. quickly
changed to yell Of imprecation. They were
ON the Ridge in q binding snowstormi The
road had already vanished under their feet,
and with 1t the fresh trail they had so closely
followed! They stood helplessly on the shore
of trackless white sea, blank and spotiess Of
any trace or sign Of the fugitives.
"'Pears to me. boys" said the osticr, sud-
denly ranging before them, "ef you're not
kalkilatin' on gittin' another party TO dig 70
out, ye'd better be huntin' fodder and cover
instead Of road agents. Skuse me-, gentle
men, but Tn responsible for the bosses, and
this amt no time for circus ridin'.. We're a
matter O. six miles from the station IN . bee
line"
"Back to the trail, them" said Clinch,
wheeling bis horse toward the road they had
just Quilted.
"'Skuse me, Kernel" said the ostier, laying
his hand on Clinch's rein, but that way only
brings US back the road We kem-the stage
road-three miles further frosA home. That
three miles is Oh the divide, and by the time
we get there it will be showed mp worss nor
| this. The shortest cut is along the Ridge II
we bump ourselves we ken cross tho divide
afore the road Is blocked. And that, 'skuse
| ME, gentlemen, is my road. - NJ
There was no time for discussion The
road was already palpably thickening under
their feet Hale's arm was stifIened to his
side by . wet, clinging snow wreath The
figures OF the others were almost oblitsrated
and shapeless. u was not snowing-it WAS
snowballing! Tho hugo fakes, shaken Ike
enormous feathers out Of vast blue black
cloud, commingled and fell in sprays and
| patches. All idea of their former pursuit
was forgotten; the blind rage and enthusi-
asm that had possessed them was gone.
They dashed after their new leader with only
| an instinct for shelter and succor.
They had not ridden long when for
tunateiy, as it seemed to Hale, the character
of the storm changed. The snow no longer
| fell in such large flakes, nor as heavily. A
bitter wind succeeded; the soft snow began
10 stiffen and crackle under the horses hoofs;
they were no longer weighted and encum-
bered by the drifts upon their bodies; the
smaller flakes now rustled and rasped against
them like sand, or bounded from them like
hail. They seemed to be moving more easily
and rapidly, their spirits were rising with
the stimulus of cold and motion, when sud
denly their lender halted.
"It's no use, boys. Is can't be done! This
Is no blizzard, but a regular twodays' sniftcrl
i
| in now. Even IL we get over the divide,
we're sure to be blocked up in the pas"
It was true! Totheir bitter disappointment
they could now see that the snow had not
really diminished In quantity, but that the
now finely powdered particles were rapidly
filling all inequalities OF the surface, packing
in long burrows across the levels. They
looked with an xiety at their seif-constituted
leader, III.
gWe must make q break to get down in
the woods again before its to9 Late. be said
briefly. III J.E.5 .E~r.-4 .
But they had already drifted away from
the fringe Of larches and dwarf pines that
marked the sides of the Ridge, and lower
down merged into the dense forest that clothed
the flank Of tho mountain they had lately
climbed, and it was with the greatest diff
Guilty that they again reached il, only to find
that at that point it was too precipitQus for
tho descent of their horses. Benumbed and
speeches., they continued to toll on, opposed
to the full fury Of the singing snow, and at
times obliged to turn their harses TO tho blast
to keep from being blown over the Ridge,
At the end of half an hour tho ostier dis
mounted, and, beckoning to the others, took
his horse by the bride and began the descent.
When it came to Hale's turn to dismount he
could not help at first recoilins from the pros
pect before him. Tho trail-if IL could be SO
called-was merely the track or furrow Of
some fallen tree, dragged, by accident or de-
sign. diagonaliy across the sides Of tho noun
tain. Al times IL appeared scarcely foot in
width; ut other times mere erumbling
gully, or narrow shelf made by the projsc-
tons of dead boughs and collected debris. II
seemed perilous for foot passenger; it ap.
peared impossible for . horse. Nevertheless,
he had taken Q step forward when Clinch
laid his hand on his arm.
"You1i bring up the rear he said, not un-
kindly, Sez you're . stranger here. Wait I'm.
I'll We sing out 10 you"
sBat II prefer TO take the same risks q
you allF said Hale, stiAiy,
"You KIM said Clinch, grimly. Shut
reckoned, as you weren't familiar with thii
sort o. thing, you wouldn't keer, by any
fooiishness o yours. to stampede the rocks
ahead OF us, ard break down the trail, o.
send down an avalanche On top Of Us. Blu,
just ez you Likes
u will wait, them said Hale, hastily.
/ The rebuks, however, did him good ser
vice. Il preoocupied his mind, so that ID 10
manned unaffected BY the dizzy depths, and
enabled him to abandon himself mechapic
ally to the sagacity Of his horse, who wa,
contented simply 10 follow the footprints Of
the preceding animal, and in 9 few moment,
they reached the broader trail below without
mishap. A discussion regarding their I'm
ture movements was already taking place Thu
impossibility Of regsining the station at the
Summit was, admitted; the way down thu
mountain to the nsxt settlement WAS still left
10 them, Or the adjscsut woods Y they
wtbH s~ = Rsapm~t sAl& 80